‘There is no moving forward’: Clark County Council at impasse on railroad

Yung said moving forward, even with a financial analysis, would likely have to wait until issues related to the current rail operator are resolved.

Attorney David McDonald, who represents Friends of Clark County in its legal challenges to local and state development rulings, said the county doesn’t have the time, money or resources to move forward, at least for now. That means the county won’t be able to write a new approach to using the rail line into its 20-year comprehensive growth plan update by the state’s deadline.

Bowerman said she still supports driving development along the rail line, which she argues would boost the economy and drive job growth.

“We must find ways to increase jobs for all, and especially for the thousands who still commute across the bridge and therefore have to pay Oregon tax,” Bowerman said.

Even though the council decided not to move forward with the consultant, Bowerman said that doesn’t mean there isn’t still support for rail development.

“We must remain flexible, creative and cooperative in the future to identify effective ways to support economic development,” she said.

Surprise to residents?

Chelatchie resident John Nanney attended the council meeting and was surprised by the council’s decision. Nanney said many residents were unaware the council was considering expanding industrial development along the rail line.

“Now that the community is waking up and groups like Friends of Clark County and Friends of Central Vancouver and all of us up here in Chelatchie Prairie are screaming loudly, the community is saying wait a second,” Nanney said.

While the county has treated the rail line and its contract with rail operator Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad as separate issues, Nanney said the two are inextricably linked. He said the community would feel differently about the railroad’s future “if we had a rail operator that was willing to come in here and talk to us and recognize the concerns and try to work with us.”

Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad is currently being investigated by the county, state Department of Ecology and the Environmental Protection Agency for alleged violations related to work performed in the Chelatchie and Barberton areas.

“Clark County needs to take a deep breath, recognize that they onboarded the wrong company and they need to cancel the lease,” Nanney said.

Vancouver resident Wendy Cleveland, from the Sierra Club, has been a vocal critic of the rail operator and the county’s plans to expand industrial development along the rail line. She said she’s less certain the county won’t move forward sooner rather than later.

“I think they’re going to try to push something through. The only thing they can do is to rescind that vote and start over,” Cleveland said.

She said a previous proposal to convert the rail line into a rail-for-trails isn’t likely to succeed. Instead, Cleveland said turning at least part of the line into a “fully functioning tourist railroad” would be a better option.

“Encourage farms and vineyards to be a part of it. There’s already three vineyards along the line,” she said.

Councilor Sue Marshall said property owners inside the rail overlay boundaries had previously been interested in selling their land, but that’s changed in recent years.

“Whether or not there’s an ability to develop anything is in question,” Marshall said. “Maybe we don’t have an area that’s worthy of industrial development in the rural area.”